New PC build..Need your Expert recomendations!

Hi,

Budget is around £1500,

Requirements from the system: Quiet, Good multi tasker, fRAG! at hi specs!, Watch movies and stuff in Hi def.. be upgradeable in future so i dont constanly buy a new PC..

So far i have:

CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550, Yorkfield Core, S775, 2.83 GHz, 1333MHz, 12MB L2 Cache, Retail

Mobo Asus Rampage Formula, S775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1066/1200/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX

GFX 2GB Power Color HD4870X2, PCI-E2.0, 3600MHz GDDR5, GPU 750MHz, 1600 Cores, CrossFire, (planning on adding another in xfire in a few months maybe..)

HD 1TB (1000 GB) Samsung HD103UJ Spinpoint F1, SATA 300, 7200 rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ




Not sure what else to put in tbh, Case i cant decide on nor a good PSU...

My last PC had problems wth over heating and i dont want to have similar ones with this one, a good recomendation for a fan would be welcome

Also what ram is better? is there much diffrence between the 800 and 1066? i have become a Really big n00b since a few years ago and dont know squat now...

Thanks a lot for ur help I look forward to your recomendations...

You know that Intel is going to release Nehalem in a few weeks right? If you want maximum upgradability I say wait a few weeks to get an x58 board and go from there.

You do not need 1066 RAM unless you are going to overclock a long way. However, lately there have been some really good deals on 1066. Only buy the referenced Reapers if you like the price (and I own them).

While the listed PSUs might work, I would not personally use anything less than Corsair 1000W for two 4870X2 in CF:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =CA-012-CS

For one, yes a 750 is fine.


Antec 900 is a good case. Lots of air flow.

This is a good choice for CPU cooling, comes with good paste pre-applied:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] %20LGA775)

The mobo features are not an overkill if you plan to crossfire HD 4870 X2s, you will need the x16/x16 on the PCI-E slots, however those ASUS boards, especially the X48 ones, are beyond overpriced. The motherboard I would suggest for your build would be an X38 board instead, retains most if not all the overclocking capabilities (which is just a bonus in this situation), has x16/x16 for crossfire, and is a HELL of a lot cheaper:

DFI Lan Party DK X38-T2R Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] otherboard

There are a few things I wouldn't get/get different, but that's just personal preference like I rather have a WD/Seagate/Hitachi drive over a Samsung or Maxtor and I would get a slightly better CPU cooler. (But I would be OC'ing quite a bit also... so I guess it doesn't really apply to you)

Overall looks great, I hope you enjoy your build

Get the Kensington HyperX PC6400 2x2GB kit. I would have linked it but the URL was like a page long for some reason There is nothing wrong with your choice, just overkill.

The DFI motherboard is a good deal, and would work if money was tight.

The ASUS Rampage Formula (x48) is a better performer with more features, and you can afford it at 170.00.

That looks like quite a deal on the Blu-ray drive. Good to see they are coming down.

Yeah, I mean... Samsung is good don't get me wrong, but when I give advice I try to think of what I would get for myself if I were in your shoes. I don't have any bad experiences with samsung drives, but to me my data is very important and I trust those 3 brands above over Samsung and Maxtor, as I said only personal preference.

I think it was stated in an article at some point that the X48 chipset was not really worth it paying a huge premium over an X38 board. It retains the same crossfire capabilities, even though it doesn't officially say it, it's more than capable of doing 1600FSB and I think with proper cooling maybe even 500FSB just like the X48.

The X38 board also supports RAID arrays just as good as the X48s would, comes with gigabit ethernet (do you REALLY need the dual gigabit on the X48...?), same amount of USB ports, same amount of SATA connections... need I go on?

The only tangible differences between the DFI X38 and Rampage formula are the $100 difference (Think it's like $140-150 in the UK), the dual gigabit ethernet, and the "official" 1600FSB support, which is more a gimmick than anything else.

Best air cooler out there:

Thermalright Ultra-120 EXTREME CPU Heatpipe Heatsink

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128983

and a 120mm fan (any will do), like this:

Scythe S-FLEX 1600RPM Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan - 3/4 Pin

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] 03/4%20Pin

No problem, I just can't stand those ridiculously priced X48 boards, especially if they don't offer anything worthwhile compared to the previously overpriced X38.

Um I would look into a computer shop on your area for that type of maintenance, maybe also ask help on this forum. I'm not one to have an issue and not being able to fix it, but this forum helped me out of a tight spot a few months back when I replaced a dead MoBo and had a serious incompatibility issue that had me baffled, so don't underestimate the help of the internet guys, you can probably fix a lot of the problems on your own with our help and learn A LOT in the process.

yah i hate X48's with a passion

So from that article all i got is that x38 is "good enough" esp as its so much cheaper then the x48s...

But one other thing i started to notice... is my GFX bit of an over kill? should i put 2 lower models into xfire for cheaper?

I don't think the HD 4870 X2 for a 1920x1200 screen, however if you get CF HD 4850 instead you won't be disappointed either, you can be sure of that.

Looks like a nice build mate, I've decided to go with an almost exact copy of what you posted there. Speaking of Hard drives, I've heard the samsung f1 1tb is a great HD and is as fast as the 640 WD. Don't have any source on that atm though.

Regards, Alex